Charles fisher



C. FISHER.

HAT TRAY.

Y A L. n

' UNITED STATES PATENT Ormea.

CHARLES FISHER, OF MILVAUKEE, WISCONSIN, ASSIGNOR OF lONEAIIALF TO MORAVETZ da OO., OF SAME PLACE.

HAT-TRAY.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 415,964, dated November 26, 1889.

` Application tiled September 16, 1889. Serial No. 324,138. (No model.)

To all whom t may concern.-l

Be it known that I, CHARLES FISHER, of Milwaukee, in the county of Milwaukee, and in the State of Visconsin, have invented certain new and usetul Improvements in Hat- Trays; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

My invention relates to trays for sample 1o hats; and it consists in certain peculiarities of construction and combination of parts, to be hereinafter described with refei ence to the accompanying drawings, and subsequently claimed.

I5 In the drawings, Figure l represents a perspective View of my invention; Fig. 2, a transverse section of the same, with parts broken away; and Fig. 3, a detail view of a hook and clamp.

2o Referring by letter to the drawings, A A

represent two transverse strips united by longitudinal rods B O O, and arranged on these rods, equidistant from the said strips, is a transverse brace D, the latter dividing the tray into compartments. The rods B are on a plane above the onesO O', and the distance between the latter is greater than that between the former, while at the same time I prefer to provide said rods B with coverings 3o E of felt or analogous material.

By the arrangement of the rods B O O', just described, I provide for the curve of the brims on stiff hats, the latterbeing supported on said rods B, as will be hereinafter' more 3 5 fully described.

Projecting up from the transverse strips A A are dowel-pins F, and secured on these pins are rests G for a succeeding tray, the transverse strips of the latter being provided with sockets H for engagement with said dowel-pins, as shown in Fig. 2. The rests G are braced by longitudinal rods I, and the latter may be provided with coverings of felt or analogous material, as described in con nection with the rods B.

The upper tray shown in the drawings is provided with standards .I in place of the dowel-pins F, shown in connection with the lower tray, and these standards are of greater 5o length than said dowel-pins, in order that'the tops of hats placed on said upper tray will not project above the rests G, that unite said standards.

The rods O in each tray are provided with staples K, arranged midway between the trans- 5 5 verse brace D and the transverse stripsA A. To the staples K are attached loops of cord L, that extend in opposite directions to engage hooks M and clamps N, projecting from the rods O, the hooks being in line with said 6o staples and the clamps a suitable distance to the right or left of said hooks, while at the same time the cord-loops are provided with knots b at a certain distance from their outer ends, these knots serving stops to prevent said loops from slacking up should the top strands thereof work loose in the clamp.

In forming the hooks and clamps I prefer to cut a piece ot spring-wire into sections O, pass the ends of each section through the 7o rods O, and bend these ends into the desired shape.

Hats are placed on the trays so as to rest upon the rods B and be encircled by the loops L, the free ends of the latter being passed under the hooks M and between the clamps N and rods O, thereby locking said hats firmly in position. By having the hooks M in line with the staples K the hats are accurately centered, and each compartment of the trays 8o is of such area as to leave considerable space around each hat therein, while at the saine time the felt or analogous coverings on the rods B I prevent any chang of the hat rims or bodies that come in contact therewith.

The trays above described may be of any desired dimensions, and the lower one of said trays will be duplicated a number of' times, according to varying depths of sample-trunks, each one of the latter trays being doweled to 9o the one preceding7 as above described.

In order to economize space, the lower trays are of a height less than the hats and the latter on one tray nest with those on the trays adjacent thereto; but the top tray is of a height greater than any of those preceding it, in order that the tops of the hats thereon may not be injured by the lid of the sample trunk in which the nest of trays andtheir contents are packed.

The trays can be readily packed and un` packed, thereby effecting a great saving in IOO time to the salesman, while at the same time said salesman can show both the outside and inside of a line of hats without removing any of them from the respective trays, and in case it is desirable to closely examine any particular hat the latter can be readily detached for that purpose. By the use of the trays I avoid any breaking of the hat-rims at the sides, as is frequently the case when hats are packed in the usual manner, this advantage being very material to the trade.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. A hat-tray comprising' transverse strips united by longitudinal rods in upper and lower series and flexible loops connected to the rods in the lower series, substantially as set forth.

2. A hat-tray comprising transverse strips united by longitudinal rods, transverse braces arranged on the rods to divide the tray into compartments, and flexible loops connected to certain of said rods, substantially as set set forth. A

3. A hat-tray comprising transverse strips united by longitudinal rods in series at different elevations, those in the lower series being at a greater distance apart than those in the upper series, and iexible loops connecting with the rods in said lower series to encircle hats supported on the rods in said upper series, substantially as set forth.

4. A nest of hat-trays, each of which comprises transverse strips united by longitudinal rods, flexible loops connected to certain of the rods, dowel-pins extended from one edge of the transverse strips, and the other edge of these strips provided with sockets for engagement With the dowel-pins on the opposing tray, substantially as set forth.

5. A nest of hat-trays, each of which comprises transverse strips united by longitudinal rods, flexible loops connected to certain of the rods, dowel-pins extended from one edge of the transverse strips, rests supported on the doWel-pins, and sockets iu the other edge the doWel-pins on the opposing tray,substan tially as set forth. 4

6. A nest of hat-trays, each of which comprises transverse strips united by longitudinal rods, flexible loops connected to certain of the rods, dowel-pins extended from one edge of the transverse strips, rests supported on the doivel-pins, longitudinal rods uniting the rests, and sockets in the other edge of said transverse strips for engagement with the doWel-pins on the opposing tray, substantially as set forth.

7. A nest of hat-trays, each of which comprises transverse strips united by longitudinal rods, flexible loops connected to certain of the rods, doWel-pins extending up from the upper edge of the transverse strips in the lower trays and the lower edges of these strips in all the trays provided with sockets for engagement With the opposing doWel-pins, standards projecting up from said transverse strips in the upper tray, rest-s supported on the standards, and longitudinal rods uniting the rests, substantially as set forth.

8. A hat-tray comprising transverse strips united by longitudinal rods, exible loops connected to certain of the rods, and sections of spring-wire having the ends thereof passed through certain others of said rods and bent to form hooks and clamps for engagement with the loops, substantially as set forth.

9. A hat-tray comprising transverse strips united by longitudinal rods, flexible loops connected to certain of the rods and knotted at a certain distance from their outer ends, and hooks and clamps on certain others of said rods for engagement with the loops on opposite sides of the knots, substantially as set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand, at Milwaukee, in

the county of Milwaukee and State of Wis- 

